All in The Swarthmorean
A community newspaper, at its best, is a reflection of the community it serves. It can inform, educate, and on occasion even influence its readers, but ultimately it is, or should be, a mirror held up before its readers. In this way, it can help us better understand our town, our neighbors and, sometimes, ourselves.
We are saddened that a conversation we had with our editor about the paper’s editorial balance is being misinterpreted as an effort to limit coverage of matters of social justice. Our Editor Rachel and our Associate Editor Satya have chosen to resign. We have counted ourselves among their biggest fans throughout their tenure and are grateful for their efforts to help make the paper what it is today.
The Swarthmorean invites applications for an unpaid summer internship with flexible working arrangements. The applicant must have 8-15 hours of availability per week for at least five weeks between mid-June and mid-August. Current high school and college students are eligible.
Rereading articles from this past January and February is like peering through the wrong end of a telescope into a lost world. Here’s a review of what we were doing and thinking about in 2020, as it showed up in the pages (and website) of this newspaper — both BC (Before COVID) and AD (After Distancing). Free to read and share
Underneath the newspaper’s name, the Swarthmorean banner reads “Serving Swarthmore and Surrounding Communities Since 1893.” This publication seeks to support and lift up the community it represents. I find that a noble mission and ambition for a local paper. When I learned that the position of associate editor was available, that mission drew me in.
The Swarthmorean is seeking an associate editor to work part-time (20 hours/week) assisting with many aspects of writing and producing the paper, which has been published every week since 1893.
How to inventory a whole year? What to remind you of, and what to skip? What would you rather forget, but maybe shouldn’t? What have you already forgotten that might interest you to recall? Collecting (recollecting) these happenings and lives and milestones is a way to consider what we have accomplished and aspired to and worried about as a community, as we take the first steps into 2020. To think about where we have succeeded, where we have more work to do, and where we might want to start all over again.
Free to read and share
When I moved to Swarthmore in June 2000, our real estate agent gave us a year’s subscription to The Swarthmorean. I remember how happy it made me to leaf through those pages. The articles, the ads for local business, the calendar, and the classifieds were all windows into this new, unknown community I was joining. In the nearly 20 years since, I have looked forward every week to getting the paper. Even as I came to know my neighbors, get drawn into local organizations, and see my kids’ procession from first grade at SRS all the way through the high school, I have counted on The Swarthmorean to inform me, enliven me, and help me feel connected. My goal as editor will be to continue these missions and to broaden outward.
Free to read and share
Swarthmorean editor Chris Reynolds will be moving on from his post this fall. “Editing the Swarthmorean for the past 4 ½ years has been a great job, but to everything, there is a season. I’ll be leaving the paper in solid condition, with loyal readers and lots of upside,” Chris said.
Free to read and share
Swarthmorean.com is becoming a more useful community resource than Nextdoor, offering far more in-depth coverage of the institutions, people, and events that shape the community. We are growing rapidly because we’re the go-to source for what’s happening in our town and throughout the school district, with dozens of featured events every week in and around Swarthmore and surrounding communities.
Free to read and share
Today is a big day for us at The Swarthmorean. Ever since Todd and Rob purchased the paper at the start of this year, a primary goal has been to increase our following. This means providing great community coverage in any format you want — print or digital.
Readers have enjoyed our printed newspaper for over 125 years, and we will continue to offer it for those of you who crave the tactile bliss of flipping pages front-to-back. And while there have been a few incarnations of our website in the past, there wasn’t a strategy in place to provide all of the content you read each week online, in a reader-friendly format that can sustain our publication over time. We’re now happy to say we’re on our way, and it starts with the brand new digital version of The Swarthmorean.
Free to read and share
